Killing's equations for invariant metrics on Lie groups (Q429052)

If \(G\) is a Lie group and \(\langle\rangle\) a right-invariant metric on \(G\), then every left-invariant vector field on \(G\) will be a Killing field. It is therefore natural to ask whether the left-invariant vector fields are the only Killing vector fields. In the paper under review the authors answer this question for Lie algebras of dimensions two and three by solving Killing's equation on a case-by-case basis. The answer is that usually there are more Killing vector fields. It turns out that several three-dimensional Lie groups are spaces of constant curvature and that the ``extra'' Killing fields are neither left nor right invariant (so the fact that the spaces are of constant curvature is unexpected).